


Fathom

by TrekFaerie



Series: Dragon Meme: Kinkquisition [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 15:12:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2816747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrekFaerie/pseuds/TrekFaerie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cole has a crush.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fathom

**Author's Note:**

> kink meme fill: http://dragonage-kink.livejournal.com/10859.html?thread=45949291#t45949291

_Tongue, tied. Palms, sweaty. Heart, new, beating faster when he's close. I want him close, no, closer, but if he can see me and remember now, he'll remember my face being flushed, eyes glowing like his, but only when he looks at her. Never me._

_This must be what love is._

_It hurts worse than pain._

He wants to be helpful, still. Being more human limits his options, forcing his small acts of kindness even smaller, but that just makes him more determined. He still wants to help everyone.

But, lately, he hasn't been helping everyone. He's just been helping him.

Solas. Placid as a lake, but you can still drown in it; churning under the surface, water in your lungs, sinking down into mysterious darkness. There was always a pain deep inside Solas, but something had always kept him from fully grasping it and bringing it to the surface. Before, it had been too old to heal; now, it is too old to fathom, and he can't remember exactly who he was. Is. He's something.

_His dreams of her are violent, animalistic. I know. I watch. And wish I still interested him._

He mixes paints well, Solas tells him. He thinks he does. The colors make sense to him, more than anything else in the room does. He mixes as quietly as he can. He doesn't want to miss anything: steady breathing, an old song hummed, murmuring under his breath in dead language.

It distracts him. He doesn't realize Solas is next to him until he feels a gentle weight on his shoulder.

_He's too sharp, now. He burns too brightly for me to see with human eyes._

"That's quite enough for today, Cole. I wouldn't want to take up all of your time." He's holding a small cloth. Cole stares at it like he's unaware of its purpose. The cloth is slightly wet when it touches his nose, and comes back a faded green. "You somehow managed to paint yourself," he says with a slight smile. An explanation. An excuse.

_Humans don't live long enough for regrets._

The rim of his hat taps Solas' chin as he stands, forces the man to step back. In that fluid motion, he steps forward. Leans up. Presses his lips against his.

_My, what big--_

He breaks away immediately, tries to hide under his hat, as his pale skin turns red. The hat is lifted off his head, and only his hair stands between him and the gentle expression above him.

"You'd do well to find another object for your affections, dear boy," he says so painfully, terribly kindly, something close to regret in his eyes. "Someone who can truly appreciate and care for you. Someone worthy of such a unique and caring individual."

_A hat pressed back into my hands; an embrace. Forgiveness, for both of us._

_I feel better. He told her the same thing._

Still, he'll hold the kiss close for a very long while. A white-hot light in murky darkness.


End file.
